Hits and Misses: Beauty Misses of 2015

I wanted this to be a video but contrary to my usual problems, I’ve actually found I have too many videos to upload and I don’t really want to spam people with too many! So I decided to do a series of two blog posts instead (if you can call ‘two’ a series…), ‘Hits and Misses of 2015’. My original idea was to include fashion and accessory items too but for this, I’ve scaled it back to just beauty items.
This isn’t a comprehensive list of items that I love/ hate – I’ve restricted myself to just products that I tried out this year and stood out for either good or bad reasons. Most products tend to fit into the ‘meh’ category for me – meaning that I neither love nor hate them and in all likeliness, I’ll reach for them occasionally but will probably not repurchase. These products aren’t getting a look in here. The products below are ones that I really really don’t like – and whilst it’s a free world, I would advise you to stay away from and to save your hard earned money!

So, here we go – in no particular order of terribleness.

KORA Organics Vitamin Enhanced Lip Balm

This was an expensive lip balm and I had high hopes. I like to go organic where I can and the whole line looked fairly promising. It’s also on the pricier side so I opted to dip my toes in the water by trying the cheapest product first. Let’s just say, I’m glad I decided to do it this way. This lip balm is awful! It’s difficult to apply, doesn’t moisturise and leaves a weird texture on the lips. I’m pretty peeved I spent £19 on it but hopefully you can learn from my mistakes!

Laura Mercier Smooth Finish Flawless Fluide

I should preface this by saying I like Laura Mercier products a lot. Well, I did until I used this one. I used to use their tinted moisturiser a few years ago and loved it. I was after a full coverage foundation and was recommended this by a Space NK SA. Full coverage, it is not. Streaky, watery and it covers pretty much nothing. I generally like lighter coverage foundations but this is really more work than its worth and it’s not been touched since opening.

Chanel Le Volume Waterproof Mascara

I wanted to love this and in truth, it’s not the worst thing in the world but it’s also just not that great. I liked the samples I had of the non-waterproof version which is why I thought I’d give this a go. It’s very wet which I think limits how good it is – and whilst mascaras usually dry out, this is a few months in and there’s still no sign. I find myself looking forward to using this up so I can go back to my old L’oreal one, which for this price, isn’t a great sign.

Living Proof Full Root Lifting Spray

I only used this product a few times and was disappointed. It didn’t really seem to do much and the amount that you should use is tricky to get right. I didn’t use it for a couple of months and then decided to give it another go – only to find that the nozzle had become stuck with the residue of the product. I have since tried everything to un-stick it but to no avail.

Bourjois Happy Light Base Serum Primer

I bought this on a whim along with the 123 Perfect foundation (which I love). This is fine but honestly, I can’t tell the difference from when I do use it to when I don’t. It’s been used a few times and promptly left alone since.

GHD Curl Hold Spray

This I bought along with some hair curlers and whilst I like the hair culers, this I can live without. I’m not sure if it’s the product or dispenser but while the bottle advises that you spray one to two squirts onto your hair, with hair as long as mine, this is almost impossible. The spray is extremely narrow meaning that you can only spray very small amounts of your hair at any one time. It needs to go on dry hair so spreading it out after spraying is pretty difficult. The result is you either end up with no product or way too much on your hair – neither of which ends in bouncier curls unfortunately!

MAC Melba Blusher

I’ve heard so much hype about this blusher but for me, it just turned out to be a bit meh. It goes on very sheer and the amount of effort it takes to get any kind of colour just doesn’t seem worth it.

Diptyque Eau Rose Natural Spray

I wasn’t sure whether to include this as perfume is such a subjective thing. I love the scent of roses and I’m a particular fan of the Diptyque Roses candle which is why I went for this. I tried it out in store several times before buying and loved it each time. At home though, I seldom reach for this and when I do, I feel like the scent is too overpowering and in truth, a little stuffy and old-ladylike! I’m hoping this will grow on me but the bottle has remained full for over a year now so I’m not holding my breath!

So that’s it for the misses! On a more positive note, my beauty hits of 2015 will be coming up next week so keep a look out for that 🙂

What were your misses of 2015? Any products I/ we all should avoid? As always, thank you for reading!